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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — for a lock
  4. sharp — clever
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. key — in music
  7. club — a group
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. key — the most important part
  11. file — a line of people
  12. club — for golf
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a document
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. club — for dancing
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — with an edge

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