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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. key — for a lock
  8. row — to paddle
  9. fine — high quality
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. row — a line
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. key — in music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — completely

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