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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · key · bat · wind · date · present · snap · ball

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. present — a gift
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. key — in music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. present — there
  9. snap — to click
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — hurry
  14. present — the time now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ball — a great time
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com