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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fine — all right
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. swing — music
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — a subject
  9. toast — bread
  10. key — in music
  11. lean — to bend
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lean — thin
  16. key — for a lock
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — high quality
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — for sport
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chair — to sit on

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