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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. net — in sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — magic
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — child
  11. spell — letters
  12. lean — thin
  13. key — for a lock
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. key — in music
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spell — a short time
  24. straw — dry grass

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