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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. key — the most important part
  3. field — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. scale — size or range
  9. band — a ring
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a music group
  12. field — a subject
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. key — in music
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bank — for money

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