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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — obliged
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spell — magic
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. key — in music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cell — in biology
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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