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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. date — the fruit
  3. key — in music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — the earth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. key — for a lock
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — in cards
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. roll — a cake
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. roll — a list
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. ground — crushed
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. mine — an explosive

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