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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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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 · stick · bear · cell · cap · straw · present · foot

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. present — the time now
  3. key — the most important part
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — a phone
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. key — for a lock
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. present — a gift
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bear — the animal
  22. key — in music
  23. cell — in biology
  24. present — there

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