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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · cold · wake · content · lean · patient · ground · last

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — thin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ground — the earth
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. content — the amount
  9. ground — a position
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. content — happy
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. last — finally
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. key — for a lock
  19. last — final
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. last — to go on
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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