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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. track — to keep track
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. key — for a lock
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bear — the animal
  12. track — a path
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. swing — music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — to paddle
  19. track — a song
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — a line
  22. scale — in music
  23. key — in music
  24. bear — the animal

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