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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: wind · club · cold · content · key · deal

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — not warm
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. club — for golf
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — a group
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. key — for a lock
  17. club — for dancing
  18. key — the most important part

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