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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: saw · last · key · perch · nail · cap · cold · court

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cap — a hat
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — a lid
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. key — in music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. key — for a lock
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — of ice

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