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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spring — a coil
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. drill — the tool
  10. board — a committee
  11. spring — the season
  12. key — for a lock
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. key — in music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cue — a signal
  19. file — a document
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — of water
  22. board — to get on
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a tool

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