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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — a path
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — in music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. key — the most important part
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — of ice
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. key — in music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. rash — a series

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