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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — child
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. key — for a lock
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. firm — steady
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. file — a line of people
  19. key — the most important part
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a tool
  22. firm — a company
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. file — a document

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