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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: spring · key · bat · sharp · file · chest · mouse · mark

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. mouse — the animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mark — a grade
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bat — the animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — for baseball
  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