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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. season — of the year
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. board — to get on
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. key — in music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — completely
  13. season — in sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. board — a committee
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. hide — animal skin

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