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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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 — the most important part
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a face
  8. key — in music
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mug — to rob
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. staff — employees
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  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