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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lean — to bend
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. firm — decided
  6. key — for a lock
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — a country
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bank — for money
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bank — for money
  18. swing — music
  19. bank — of a river
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — ground
  24. lean — to rest against

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