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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pass — a permit
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — a committee
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — newspapers
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. press — a publisher
  15. key — in music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. press — to push
  22. board — to get on
  23. cell — in biology
  24. swing — 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