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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. key — for a lock
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. land — a country
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wake — a trail
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — music
  23. key — in music
  24. fine — all right

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