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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. club — a group
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. key — for a lock
  9. wound — an injury
  10. club — for dancing
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bass — low music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. field — a subject
  24. club — for golf

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