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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: straw · fork · fall · face · club · key · foot · game

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. key — the most important part
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fork — in a road
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. key — in music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. game — a match
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. club — for dancing
  23. face — to confront
  24. fall — to drop

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