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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rest — a break
  7. key — for a lock
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spell — letters
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — the fish
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spell — magic
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. key — in music
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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