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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: lean · key · mine · straw · bark · last · wave · snap

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. snap — to click
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. key — in music
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lean — thin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. last — to go on
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. key — for a lock
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — the most important part
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mine — an explosive

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