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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — the season
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chest — a box
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spring — of water

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