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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cold — not warm
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — music
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — help
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — in cards
  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