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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 116 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — a subject
  6. key — the most important part
  7. race — a contest
  8. field — farmland
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. field — for sport
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rash — a series
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — humankind
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. race — the arms race
  22. key — in music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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