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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: rash · ground · club · foot · season · mine · swing · key

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ground — a position
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. key — for a lock
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. foot — a measure
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — a series
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. club — for golf
  19. ground — the earth
  20. swing — music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. club — for dancing
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. key — in music

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