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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bound — certain
  4. key — the most important part
  5. swing — music
  6. kick — in football
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. key — in music
  12. row — a line
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. key — for a lock
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. field — a subject
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bound — tied together
  21. row — to paddle
  22. field — for sport
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. leaves — of a tree

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