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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mine — for digging
  3. key — for a lock
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. file — a document
  7. march — music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. file — a line of people
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. swing — music
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. key — the most important part
  17. lean — to bend
  18. swing — in golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. swing — to play on
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. march — the month
  24. key — in music

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