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

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. 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. key — for a lock
  2. shower — to wash
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. swing — to play on
  7. shower — rain
  8. mate — to breed
  9. key — in music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. swing — music
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. key — the most important part
  18. 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