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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: squash · key · staff · tear · cell · mug · wake · date

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tear — to rip
  4. staff — employees
  5. squash — to crush
  6. staff — employees
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mug — a cup
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. key — in music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mug — a face
  18. squash — the sport
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cell — a phone
  21. date — the fruit
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tear — from crying

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