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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 · rock · land · trunk · drill · rest · swing · squash

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. land — to come down
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — a country
  6. key — in music
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. drill — army training
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. swing — music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rock — a stone
  19. swing — in golf
  20. drill — a practice
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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