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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. key — for a lock
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a cake
  13. press — a publisher
  14. roll — a list
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — a box
  18. press — to push
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rash — a series
  24. press — newspapers

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