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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. spring — of water
  2. bound — tied together
  3. track — to keep track
  4. swing — to play on
  5. key — the most important part
  6. clip — a video
  7. track — a path
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — a series
  10. spring — the season
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — hasty
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bound — certain
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — obliged
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — for paper
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — to cut
  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