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

Word bank: pop · foot · rest · chair · key · cell · hand · fall

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — to visit
  8. key — in music
  9. pop — music
  10. fall — the season
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rest — a break
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pop — soda
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hand — help
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chair — to sit on

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