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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — a country
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fine — all right
  5. cold — an illness
  6. land — to come down
  7. fine — high quality
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. drill — army training
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. key — the most important part
  14. drill — a practice
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. swing — to play on
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the sport
  21. swing — music
  22. squash — to crush
  23. key — for a lock
  24. vault — a safe

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