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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. club — for dancing
  4. file — a tool
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kid — child
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. key — in music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. roll — a cake
  18. key — the most important part
  19. file — a document
  20. board — a committee
  21. club — for golf
  22. board — to get on
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. club — a group

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