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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. drill — a practice
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cap — a hat
  12. key — in music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. drill — army training
  16. scale — in music
  17. mate — to breed
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. key — the most important part
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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