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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rock — music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. key — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. key — the most important part
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. kick — in football
  24. fan — to cool the air

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