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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — the underground
  4. key — the most important part
  5. root — of a plant
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tube — a container
  8. race — humankind
  9. root — the cause
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. key — in music
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — of a word
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. straw — dry grass

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