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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. lean — thin
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. swing — music
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. squash — to crush
  10. drill — a practice
  11. content — happy
  12. key — the most important part
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. drill — army training
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pass — a permit
  18. branch — a division
  19. key — in music
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. content — the amount
  22. lean — to bend
  23. content — videos and posts
  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