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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. key — in music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fall — the season
  10. swing — in golf
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lean — thin
  22. key — for a lock
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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