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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. net — in sport
  10. key — the most important part
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. key — in music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. key — for a lock
  19. drill — army training
  20. rest — a break
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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