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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — of water
  3. suit — in cards
  4. file — a document
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a line of people
  10. suit — to fit
  11. key — the most important part
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bound — certain
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. suit — clothes
  20. hand — help
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — the earth
  23. key — in music
  24. hand — in cards

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