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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: rest · spring · key · kid · mouse · ground · clip · stick

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — a break
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — a position
  17. kid — child
  18. key — in music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ground — the earth
  22. key — the most important part
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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