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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. swing — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. key — the most important part
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. key — in music
  14. content — the amount
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. swing — to play on
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. key — for a lock
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. calf — of the leg

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