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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · swing · chest · wind · jam · bay · straw · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — music
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. swing — to play on
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a tool
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a document
  13. key — in music
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. key — the most important part
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chest — a box
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wind — to turn a key

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