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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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Word bank
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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: spring · wound · mine · sharp · file · straw · key · bore

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. file — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bore — to drill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wound — an injury

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