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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. season — in sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spell — magic
  11. key — for a lock
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — to come from
  15. spell — letters
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — of the year
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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