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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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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: wind · jam · cold · mouse · fork · suit · key · wound

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wind — moving air
  4. suit — clothes
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. suit — in cards

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