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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bark — to shout
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — in music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. present — the time now

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