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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bark — to shout
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cap — a hat
  12. content — the amount
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitch — completely
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. key — in music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pitch — a sports field

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