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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. race — humankind
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. net — after costs
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — a contest
  9. saw — the tool
  10. deal — to handle
  11. saw — the tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. key — in music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cue — for pool
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — in sport
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. net — for catching
  24. coach — a trainer

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