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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. land — ground
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — a country
  11. swing — to play on
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — music
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cap — of ice
  16. file — a document
  17. key — in music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. rule — government
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — a law
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rule — to rule out

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