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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: tube · spring · game · key · rest · bay · temple · bat

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — a match
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — a container
  11. rest — what's left
  12. key — in music
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. temple — side of the head

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