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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. key — the most important part
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. field — for sport
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. key — in music
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. stem — to come from
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. field — a subject
  21. swing — music
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. swing — to play on
  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