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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — the month
  9. file — a document
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a tool
  14. march — the month
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kick — in football
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — of law
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. prune — to trim
  22. march — music
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. saw — the 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