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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. bass — low music
  6. net — for catching
  7. bass — the fish
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — to go on
  12. net — in sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. swing — in golf
  15. net — after costs
  16. last — final
  17. key — in music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. swing — to play on
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. last — finally
  22. bear — the animal
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. field — for sport

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