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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. key — the most important part
  5. craft — boats
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. key — for a lock
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. key — in music
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — soda
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pop — music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. craft — a skill
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. present — the time now
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cell — in biology

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