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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. key — the most important part
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. season — in sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mine — for digging
  19. key — in music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. key — for a lock
  24. straw — dry grass

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