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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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468
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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. key — for a lock
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fork — in a road
  7. ball — a dance
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — the underground
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tube — a container
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — a box
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. key — in music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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