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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cue — a signal
  4. spring — the season
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spring — of water
  11. swing — music
  12. track — a path
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cue — for pool
  17. clip — a video
  18. track — to keep track
  19. key — in music
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a song
  23. cue — a hint
  24. temple — a place of worship

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