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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rule — a law
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. cue — a hint
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cue — a signal
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a dance
  18. toast — bread
  19. key — in music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cue — for pool

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