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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 116 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: prune · last · rest · wind · kid · staff · safe · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rest — what's left
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — final
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rest — what's left
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — child
  19. last — finally
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wind — moving air
  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