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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. ground — a position
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — for a lock
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — ground
  12. ground — crushed
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wind — moving air
  16. key — in music
  17. land — a country
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — to play on
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. safe — out of danger

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