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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. date — the fruit
  5. roll — a cake
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pass — a permit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hand — help
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. key — for a lock
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. key — in music
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. race — a contest
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. swing — music

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