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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — a position
  7. stand — to bear
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. key — the most important part
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. stem — to come from
  17. key — in music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — crushed
  22. land — a country
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — a stem cell

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