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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. key — for a lock
  3. court — for sport
  4. swing — in golf
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. current — of water
  7. court — of a king
  8. swing — music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. current — happening now
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. court — of law
  19. current — electric
  20. swing — to play on
  21. key — in music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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