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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: face · straw · kid · lean · pitcher · key · pit · safe

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. key — for a lock
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — child
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — to bend
  12. key — in music
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. key — the most important part
  15. lean — thin
  16. face — to confront
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pit — a hole
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. pit — in a race
  22. face — part of the head
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. face — to point toward

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