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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fall — the season
  6. row — a line
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — all right
  11. swing — music
  12. key — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bore — to drill
  20. swing — to play on
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — the Cold War

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