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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wound — an injury
  4. object — to protest
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. key — in music
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — in biology
  20. scale — size or range
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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