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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — ground
  4. drill — a practice
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — a country
  12. rest — a break
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. file — a tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — to come down
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. file — a document

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