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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 120 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: key · row · spring · bat · saw · pit · game · wake

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — a trail
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bat — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pit — a hole
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spring — the season
  24. row — a line

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