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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: club · bound · tube · mate · lie · net · cold · key

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. key — for a lock
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. net — after costs
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — not warm
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — a container
  22. bound — certain
  23. key — in music
  24. mate — a partner

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