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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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 — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. key — the most important part
  9. march — the month
  10. present — there
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. present — a gift
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. present — the time now
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — to grow
  23. march — music
  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