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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 the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. net — after costs
  3. race — a contest
  4. can — a tin
  5. roll — a cake
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spring — of water
  9. fall — to drop
  10. roll — a list
  11. race — humankind
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. net — for catching
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spring — a coil
  21. can — to be able to
  22. swing — music
  23. key — in music
  24. spring — the season

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