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

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spell — magic
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. key — in music
  12. rule — government
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spell — letters
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — a law
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — to tease
  24. key — the most important part

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