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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. net — after costs
  3. bound — obliged
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. land — ground
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mate — a partner
  9. spring — of water
  10. mate — to breed
  11. land — to come down
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bound — certain
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — a country
  17. net — for catching
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bound — tied together
  20. key — for a lock
  21. spring — a coil
  22. squash — the sport
  23. key — the most important part
  24. spring — the season

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