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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. key — the most important part
  5. swing — in golf
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. key — in music
  14. swing — music
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — a leader
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — to attach or keep 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