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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — for a lock
  5. field — for sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. field — farmland
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — rain
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. key — in music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spell — magic
  20. field — a subject
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — to eat
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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