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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — to tease
  5. key — in music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — in a race
  8. swing — music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. swing — to play on
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — the earth
  16. toast — bread
  17. spell — magic
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. spell — a short time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. key — the most important part

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