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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. row — a line
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — to paddle
  5. season — of the year
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. swing — music
  9. season — in sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fine — high quality
  13. game — wild animals
  14. swing — to play on
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. swing — in golf
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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