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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: key · chest · land · perch · foot · ball · bark · spring

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spring — of water
  3. chest — a box
  4. key — for a lock
  5. foot — a measure
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — to come down
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ball — a dance
  16. perch — the fish
  17. land — a country
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — of your body
  24. key — in music

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