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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. row — to paddle
  3. key — in music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pop — soda
  8. cue — a hint
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rule — a law
  11. pop — music
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. spring — of water
  24. pop — to visit

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