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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitch — completely
  8. key — in music
  9. last — final
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. last — finally
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — a container

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