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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — the most important part
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. can — a tin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chest — a box
  13. key — in music
  14. can — a tin
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — from crying
  19. can — to be able to
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — for a lock
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — to rip
  24. straw — a straw man

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