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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — a coil
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — the season
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pop — music
  8. key — in music
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. key — the most important part
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pop — to visit
  17. squash — to crush
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. snap — to click
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fork — in a road
  22. spring — of water
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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