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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — for sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mug — a cup
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mug — to rob
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kick — in football
  12. key — in music
  13. mug — a face
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. key — the most important part
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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