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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a music group
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. key — in music
  5. pitch — completely
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. key — the most important part
  8. spring — the season
  9. key — for a lock
  10. shower — to wash
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. band — a ring
  20. spring — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — to eat
  24. band — a rubber band

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