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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — a group
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bulb — for light
  7. face — to point toward
  8. club — for dancing
  9. squash — to crush
  10. key — in music
  11. chest — a box
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. craft — a skill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — for a lock
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. squash — the sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. club — for golf
  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