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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. key — the most important part
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. rash — a series
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. key — in music
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rash — hasty
  16. snap — to click
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — thin
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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