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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rock — a stone
  9. swing — to play on
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rock — music
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. swing — in golf
  16. spell — a short time
  17. key — in music
  18. swing — music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. clip — a video
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. spell — magic
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. rock — to move gently

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