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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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Word bank
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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. key — in music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — a trail
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cell — in biology
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. spring — a coil

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