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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 120 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — tied together
  6. race — humankind
  7. season — of the year
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — certain
  12. ground — a position
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bound — obliged
  24. swing — music

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