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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: key · mine · prune · content · stick · present · cap · straw

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — of ice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — a gift
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. present — the time now
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. content — happy
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. key — the most important part
  21. present — there
  22. cap — a hat
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cap — a lid

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