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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — music
  3. club — a group
  4. key — the most important part
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — in golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kick — in football
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. key — for a lock
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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