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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. key — the most important part
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fork — in a road
  7. band — a ring
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. key — in music
  10. row — a line
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. key — for a lock
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. band — a music group
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. row — to paddle
  20. perch — the fish
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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