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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 120 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: sharp · wound · bulb · club · hide · key · cold · stick

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cold — an illness
  4. club — for golf
  5. key — for a lock
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bulb — for light
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wound — an injury
  24. key — in music

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