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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. key — in music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. hand — in cards
  7. saw — the tool
  8. key — the most important part
  9. track — a song
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. spring — a coil
  13. key — for a lock
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pound — a weight
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — of water
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — help
  24. pound — for dogs

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