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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: kid · key · racket · bound · wind · file · lean · mark

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — child
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to bend
  11. file — a line of people
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — to tease
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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