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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. key — in music
  8. object — an aim
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. object — to protest
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. object — a thing
  21. file — a line of people
  22. last — final
  23. key — the most important part
  24. prune — to trim

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