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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. key — in music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. pop — music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pop — soda
  14. degree — an amount
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. key — the most important part
  18. swing — in golf
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — in music
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. key — for a lock

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