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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. squash — the sport
  3. key — the most important part
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bank — for money
  6. wax — to grow
  7. court — for sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. court — of law
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. hand — help
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. court — of a king
  17. bank — for money
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. key — in music
  21. cap — a lid
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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