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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — the tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. date — the fruit
  12. key — in music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wound — an injury
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — the Cold War

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