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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 taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. key — the most important part
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cold — an illness
  13. scale — size or range
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wax — to grow
  24. plane — a tool

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