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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spring — of water
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bound — certain
  12. key — in music
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — the season
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — to rip
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. tube — a container
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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