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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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 — a straw man
  3. land — to come down
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ground — crushed
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — there
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. present — the time now
  14. current — happening now
  15. land — a country
  16. current — of water
  17. present — a gift
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. land — ground
  21. sharp — clever
  22. ground — a position
  23. current — electric
  24. ground — the earth

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