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

Word bank: fork · cold · cue · kid · key · swing · spell · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cue — a hint
  4. kid — child
  5. fork — in a road
  6. key — for a lock
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. spell — letters

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