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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cue — for pool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cold — an illness
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — to grow
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. board — a committee
  24. wax — in the ear

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