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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: bore · clip · track · shower · straw · bound · ground · key

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. key — in music
  5. track — a song
  6. key — the most important part
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bore — to drill
  12. ground — crushed
  13. track — to keep track
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. track — a path
  18. shower — rain
  19. bound — certain
  20. ground — a position
  21. key — for a lock
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. clip — a video
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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