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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — for a lock
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cue — a hint
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cue — a signal
  9. date — the fruit
  10. land — ground
  11. march — the month
  12. key — in music
  13. land — to come down
  14. cue — for pool
  15. ball — a great time
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. march — music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a dance
  24. march — the month

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