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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cue — a hint
  10. prune — to trim
  11. key — the most important part
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. prune — to trim
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cold — not warm

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