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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: cold · cap · nail · spell · wind · straw · fine · key

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. key — in music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cap — a lid
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. spell — letters
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fine — all right
  24. cap — a hat

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