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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. bank — of a river
  11. key — the most important part
  12. degree — an amount
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — obliged
  16. face — to confront
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — from a university
  19. key — in music
  20. bank — for money
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — the season
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bank — for money

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