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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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Word bank
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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: key · field · cue · kid · swing · roll · track · snap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. key — the most important part
  3. roll — a cake
  4. track — to keep track
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. track — a song
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — for a lock
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. swing — music
  14. roll — a list
  15. key — in music
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — child
  22. snap — to click
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — a path

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