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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: tube · kid · trunk · ground · suit · bat · last · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bat — the animal
  4. suit — to fit
  5. tube — a container
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. key — for a lock
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kid — to tease
  14. last — finally
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ground — a position
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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