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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.

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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spell — magic
  3. hand — help
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — for light
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fall — the season
  23. spell — letters
  24. bulb — of a plant

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