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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — in music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rash — a series
  21. ground — crushed
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fall — to drop
  24. key — the most important part

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