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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pop — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — a song
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pop — soda
  7. key — the most important part
  8. spring — the season
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — of water
  15. swing — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — a coil
  19. key — for a lock
  20. track — a path
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. scale — in 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