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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rest — a break
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rest — what's left
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. key — in music
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. clip — for paper
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — an injury

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