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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. key — for a lock
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. staff — employees
  14. field — farmland
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. roll — a cake

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