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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: can · straw · key · cold · present · chest · lean · fine

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. present — there
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. can — a tin
  7. present — the time now
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. key — for a lock
  10. can — a tin
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chest — a box
  14. key — in music
  15. present — a gift
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cold — not warm
  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