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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cap — a hat
  4. key — in music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cap — a lid
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — wild animals
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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