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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. tube — a container
  3. swing — to play on
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. swing — music
  6. ground — the earth
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. ground — a position
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — of water
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. drill — the tool
  21. key — the most important part
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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