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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fall — the season
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. key — for a lock
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wake — a trail

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