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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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Word bank
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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. key — in music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — happy
  8. current — happening now
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — an illness
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. current — of water
  16. rest — a break
  17. kid — to tease
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — child
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. current — electric

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