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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. key — in music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — the most important part
  6. fall — the season
  7. key — for a lock
  8. club — a group
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rash — hasty
  14. swing — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hide — to keep secret

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