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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bear — the animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. field — a subject
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. key — in music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cue — for pool
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. bear — to put up with

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