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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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 — for a lock
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mate — to breed
  4. spring — the season
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — army training
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — of water
  12. kick — in football
  13. plane — a tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mate — a partner
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. key — in music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. key — the most important part
  22. mate — a friend
  23. plane — in geometry
  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