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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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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. race — humankind
  3. rock — music
  4. cue — a signal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. race — a contest
  13. key — in music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — the arms race
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — not warm
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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