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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — part of the head
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — tied together
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fork — in a road
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — a video
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. face — to confront
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bound — certain
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cold — not warm
  24. scale — for weighing

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