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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. drill — army training
  3. band — a music group
  4. can — a tin
  5. key — for a lock
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spring — a coil
  14. can — a tin
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. key — in music
  17. spring — the season
  18. swing — music
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. drill — a practice
  23. race — a contest
  24. can — to be able to

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