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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: snap · straw · sharp · band · kick · key · kid · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — in football
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. band — a music group
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. key — in music
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. key — the most important part
  12. kid — to tease
  13. key — for a lock
  14. tear — to rip
  15. sharp — clever
  16. band — a ring
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. kid — child
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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