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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spring — a coil
  5. key — in music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. firm — steady
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spring — the season
  15. firm — decided
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. key — the most important part
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cold — an illness
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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