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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. key — the most important part
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. key — in music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — humankind
  13. key — for a lock
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fork — in a road
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. race — the arms race
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fork — a garden tool

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