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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. key — for a lock
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — in music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wax — to grow
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — a tin
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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