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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. can — a tin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — humankind
  7. branch — a division
  8. cell — a phone
  9. key — in music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. key — for a lock
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — to rip
  14. can — to be able to
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. race — a contest
  24. can — a tin

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