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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · face · march · cap · cold · key · saw · bound

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. cap — a hat
  14. key — for a lock
  15. march — music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bound — certain
  21. cold — an illness
  22. key — in music
  23. face — to confront
  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