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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 120 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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. board — a committee
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. key — in music
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — to wash
  9. key — the most important part
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — rain
  20. pound — a weight
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fork — a garden tool

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