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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · scale · key · cell · saw · bound · march · temple

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. march — the month
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in biology
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. key — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. key — for a lock
  12. march — the month
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bound — certain
  15. march — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bound — tied together
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cell — in a prison

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