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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. swing — in golf
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — the month
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chip — to eat
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. key — in music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. key — the most important part
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. game — a match
  19. march — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. game — wild animals
  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.

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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