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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — an illness
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. band — a ring
  11. key — in music
  12. date — the fruit
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. foot — a measure

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