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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. pop — soda
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — music
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. spring — the season
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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