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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: key · spring · dip · straw · saw · cabinet · game · wound

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — for a lock
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — a match
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. key — in music
  15. spring — of water
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. key — the most important part
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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