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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. club — a group
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. club — for golf
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pitch — completely
  18. club — for dancing
  19. key — in music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. key — the most important part

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