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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. key — for a lock
  3. snap — to click
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. key — in music
  7. fall — the season
  8. tear — to rip
  9. field — a subject
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. field — farmland
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. fall — to drop
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bore — to drill
  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