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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. swing — to play on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rash — hasty
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. ground — crushed
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. press — newspapers
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — a series
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. press — to push
  17. ground — the earth
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cell — a phone
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. key — in music
  24. ground — a position

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