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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. squash — to crush
  9. band — a ring
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. swing — music
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — to play on
  14. key — in music
  15. firm — a company
  16. wake — a trail
  17. swing — in golf
  18. band — a music group
  19. rest — a break
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. firm — decided
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. rest — what's left

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