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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — of ice
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — of a word
  20. game — a match
  21. root — the cause
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wound — an injury

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