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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rock — music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rock — a stone
  6. key — in music
  7. game — a match
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. key — the most important part
  15. lie — to recline
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bore — to drill

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