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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bulb — for light
  5. key — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mug — a face
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — for light
  18. craft — a skill
  19. mug — to rob
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — not warm
  22. land — a country
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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