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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spell — magic
  3. key — for a lock
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — ground
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. land — a country
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hand — help
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. spell — letters
  15. key — in music
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. straw — a straw man

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