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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — hurry
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bound — certain
  19. spell — letters
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bound — obliged
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. march — the month
  24. march — 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