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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 116 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — in cards
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. cold — not warm
  9. track — a song
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. cold — an illness
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ball — a great time
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. key — in music

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