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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. swing — music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. swing — in golf
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. key — in music
  20. stem — to come from
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. key — the most important part
  24. mine — belonging to me

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