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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cue — a hint
  7. key — for a lock
  8. court — of a king
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cue — a signal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of law
  17. swing — music
  18. cue — for pool
  19. band — a music group
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. perch — the fish
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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