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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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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 · stick · key · shower · fall · snap · clip · club

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — rain
  8. fall — the season
  9. snap — to click
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. key — in music
  12. club — for golf
  13. shower — to wash
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. key — for a lock
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. club — a group

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