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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tube — a container
  7. key — in music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. tube — the underground
  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