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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. key — in music
  12. bound — certain
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bound — obliged
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — the Cold War

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