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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — in music
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bound — obliged
  7. net — after costs
  8. key — the most important part
  9. net — for catching
  10. bound — certain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. key — for a lock
  15. chair — a leader
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. fall — to drop
  20. net — in sport
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — the season
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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