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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. key — for a lock
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. key — the most important part
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ground — the earth
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kick — in football
  17. key — in music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ground — a position
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ground — crushed
  24. scale — in music

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