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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — tied together
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — to rip
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — certain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — a break
  18. spring — of water
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — a coil
  21. branch — a division
  22. bound — obliged
  23. key — in music
  24. wind — moving air

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