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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — low music
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — for sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — for a lock
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. key — in music
  24. bass — the fish

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