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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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Word bank
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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. swing — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. key — in music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. root — the cause
  15. key — for a lock
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — money
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chest — of your body

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