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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.

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468
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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — wild animals
  5. key — the most important part
  6. scale — size or range
  7. game — a match
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. band — a music group
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — a container
  13. cue — for pool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cue — a signal
  22. scale — in music
  23. wind — moving air
  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