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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. key — for a lock
  3. can — a tin
  4. key — the most important part
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lie — to recline
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. can — a tin
  11. scale — size or range
  12. can — to be able to
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. date — the fruit
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — the tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. key — in music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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