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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 120 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: object · straw · chest · file · fork · hand · key · season

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. key — for a lock
  11. object — to protest
  12. file — a tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. object — a thing
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a document
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fork — in a road
  21. object — an aim
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chest — a box

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