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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — the most important part
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. swing — music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cap — a hat
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — in golf

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