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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 116 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: key · mouse · pop · hand · bulb · field · cell · last

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. key — for a lock
  4. last — final
  5. key — the most important part
  6. last — to go on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hand — help
  12. pop — soda
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. key — in music
  15. pop — music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — a subject
  22. bulb — for light
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — in biology

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