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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rock — a stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a great time
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. ball — a dance
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. rock — music
  20. key — in music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. key — for a lock

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