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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ground — crushed
  5. swing — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — a position
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. key — the most important part
  10. lean — thin
  11. race — the arms race
  12. swing — in golf
  13. key — in music
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — a contest
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. swing — to play on
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — the amount
  24. ground — the earth

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