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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. present — the time now
  3. swing — music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — to protest
  8. key — in music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. present — a gift
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chest — a box
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — an aim
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chest — of your body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cell — in biology
  22. present — there
  23. key — the most important part
  24. game — a match

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