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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. key — in music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. plane — a tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cap — a hat
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. swing — to play on
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. row — a line
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. key — for a lock
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. key — the most important part

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