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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. toast — bread
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — low music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. key — in music
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. ground — a position
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bass — the fish
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. calf — of the leg

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