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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
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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: nail · key · straw · cold · hand · root · rash · scale

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — help
  4. key — the most important part
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. scale — in music
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. root — the cause
  9. rash — a series
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — in cards
  21. key — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. root — of a word
  24. scale — size or range

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