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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — in music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. key — the most important part
  11. chest — of your body
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. charge — electricity
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. charge — in control
  22. deal — to handle
  23. charge — a price
  24. chest — a box

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