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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rock — music
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. key — in music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rock — a stone

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