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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. root — the cause
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — of a word
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. root — of a plant
  20. key — the most important part
  21. lean — thin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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