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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pit — in a race
  3. ball — a great time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. key — for a lock
  6. squash — the sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. squash — to crush
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. spring — the season
  14. pit — a hole
  15. band — a ring
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. key — in music
  18. spring — of water
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — a coil
  22. swing — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. swing — in golf

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