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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to sink
  4. key — the most important part
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ground — a position
  9. lean — to bend
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. key — in music
  17. lean — thin
  18. ground — crushed
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. branch — a division
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tear — from crying

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