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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 116 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.

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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. hand — help
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — for a lock
  18. hand — part of the body

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