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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: cue · chair · key · snap · land · nail · swing · march

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. key — in music
  5. cue — a signal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. swing — in golf
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. key — for a lock
  12. march — the month
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. march — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. swing — music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. cue — for pool
  21. snap — to click
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cue — a hint
  24. nail — for a hammer

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