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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: cabinet · snap · straw · sharp · wind · key · court · chair

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. court — for sport
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chair — a leader
  9. court — of a king
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. court — of law
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. key — the most important part
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wind — moving air
  23. snap — to click
  24. key — in music

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