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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. fall — the season
  3. last — finally
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — ground
  9. key — in music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — for sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. mate — a partner
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. last — final
  19. bulb — for light
  20. key — the most important part
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mate — to breed

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