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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. club — for dancing
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — rain
  5. club — a group
  6. key — the most important part
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. ground — crushed
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. swing — music
  14. club — for golf
  15. key — for a lock
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. key — in music
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — finally

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