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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — letters
  4. bass — low music
  5. perch — the fish
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bass — the fish
  10. swing — in golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — a short time
  13. capital — money
  14. board — to get on
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. swing — music
  18. board — a committee
  19. key — the most important part
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. field — for sport
  23. key — in music
  24. spell — magic

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