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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. key — for a lock
  3. snap — to click
  4. bound — obliged
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. root — of a plant
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. key — in music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — the most important part
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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