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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bound — certain
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pop — music
  8. bound — tied together
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. last — to go on
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. plane — an aircraft

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