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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — of ice
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. content — the amount
  11. kick — in football
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cap — a lid
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — happy
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. key — for a lock
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. coach — a trainer

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