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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — crushed
  6. key — in music
  7. game — a match
  8. key — for a lock
  9. object — to protest
  10. swing — music
  11. object — an aim
  12. ground — a position
  13. swing — in golf
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — the most important part
  21. object — a thing
  22. content — the amount
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ground — the earth

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