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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. key — in music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wax — to grow
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ball — a great time
  10. hand — help
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. race — humankind
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hand — in cards
  17. net — in sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — for catching
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — after costs

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