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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bore — to tire
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — music
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. branch — a division
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. key — the most important part
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. key — in music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — to play on
  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