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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · chest · toast · wind · key · cell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — moving air
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — in music
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cell — in biology

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