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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — of water
  3. pop — to visit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. spring — the season
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. drill — a practice
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. key — for a lock
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. squash — to crush
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. row — a line
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — a coil

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