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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. file — a line of people
  3. spring — the season
  4. file — a tool
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spring — of water
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. fine — high quality
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — in golf
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — a country
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. fine — all right
  22. land — ground
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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