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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: clip · straw · pound · field · key · vault · rock · lean

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. rock — a stone
  10. vault — a safe
  11. rock — music
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lean — to bend
  15. key — the most important part
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — for sport
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lean — thin

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