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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.

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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. present — the time now
  3. key — the most important part
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. key — for a lock
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — farmland
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — in a race
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. field — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. key — in music
  18. field — a subject
  19. pit — a hole
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. present — there
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. clip — to cut

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