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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. perch — the fish
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — in golf
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fine — all right
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. swing — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fine — high quality
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — a jug

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