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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cap — a hat
  3. key — in music
  4. track — to keep track
  5. net — in sport
  6. track — a song
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — after costs
  11. track — a path
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — in music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — a lid
  23. net — for catching
  24. hand — in cards

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