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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — of water
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. perch — the fish
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. squash — to crush
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bound — certain
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. key — the most important part

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