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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. season — in sport
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. key — in music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. land — to come down
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. land — a country
  24. season — of the year

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