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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. row — to paddle
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. court — of a king
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. row — a line
  17. cell — a phone
  18. craft — boats
  19. court — of law
  20. sharp — clever
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cell — in biology
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cell — in a prison

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