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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.

Make a worksheet

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

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · kick · bear · clip · fine · season · key · bat

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. key — in music
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fine — high quality
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — belonging to me

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