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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. perch — the fish
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cell — a phone
  9. swing — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rash — a series
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. key — in music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. spring — of water
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. key — for a lock
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — in a prison

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