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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. key — in music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — completely
  12. key — the most important part
  13. root — of a plant
  14. swing — music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. root — the cause
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fork — in a road
  23. root — of a word
  24. fall — the season

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