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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. club — a group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. key — in music
  8. file — a tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. dip — to sink
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. key — the most important part
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bat — the animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. file — a document

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