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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — the season
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. staff — a stick
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — of water
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bore — to drill
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — in music
  24. calf — of the leg

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