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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. key — for a lock
  10. swing — music
  11. key — in music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. land — a country
  19. perch — the fish
  20. key — the most important part
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. sharp — clever
  24. swing — to play on

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