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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · rest · fork · key · kid · field

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. kid — child
  6. field — a subject
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — to tease
  9. key — for a lock
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rest — a break
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — farmland
  18. fork — in a road

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