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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. swing — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — money
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fall — the season
  9. row — to paddle
  10. current — happening now
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. row — a line
  14. roll — a list
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. net — for catching
  18. key — in music
  19. roll — a cake
  20. capital — a city
  21. current — of water
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. swing — to play on
  24. current — electric

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