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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. present — the time now
  3. key — the most important part
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rule — a law
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. present — a gift
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cell — in biology
  12. key — for a lock
  13. present — there
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. capital — money
  16. rash — a series
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — hasty
  20. key — in music
  21. rule — government
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. straw — a straw man

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