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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. key — in music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. roll — a list
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. scale — in music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cap — a hat
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cap — a lid
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cap — of ice
  23. scale — size or range
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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