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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cap — a lid
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bass — low music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rest — a break
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rest — what's left
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rest — what's left
  15. key — for a lock
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. swing — in golf
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bass — the fish
  23. swing — music
  24. key — in 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