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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. key — in music
  3. rush — hurry
  4. key — the most important part
  5. file — a document
  6. key — for a lock
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. field — a subject
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. field — for sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rush — a thrill

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