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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rock — a stone
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rock — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. kid — child
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. swing — music

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