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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: key · cold · kick · straw · bulb · squash · face · pop

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bulb — for light
  12. key — in music
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — the sport
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pop — soda

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