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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. can — a tin
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — an illness
  11. swing — music
  12. board — to get on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. can — to be able to
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. club — for golf
  19. can — a tin
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — a trail
  23. club — a group
  24. board — a committee

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