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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. can — a tin
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — a series
  15. pitch — completely
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitch — a sports field

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