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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bear — the animal
  6. press — to push
  7. key — in music
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. spring — the season
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bat — the animal
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — to tease
  21. spring — of water
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — in an idiom

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