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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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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: key · ball · sharp · land · roll · straw · wind · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. key — for a lock
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. ball — a great time
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. sharp — clever
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — the most important part
  10. roll — a cake
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. land — ground
  20. key — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. roll — a list
  23. land — to come down
  24. wind — to turn a key

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