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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. swing — music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — a law
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rule — government
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. scale — size or range
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. key — in music
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — high quality
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. sharp — clever
  21. scale — in music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fine — all right
  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