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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. swing — music
  4. club — for dancing
  5. root — of a word
  6. swing — to play on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitch — completely
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. root — the cause
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. swing — in golf
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. court — of law
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. key — in music
  24. prune — to trim

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