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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: deal · land · firm · swing · wound · key · hand · spring

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. swing — in golf
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. swing — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — the season
  10. swing — to play on
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — a company
  14. land — a country
  15. spring — of water
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — a coil
  18. firm — steady
  19. hand — help
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. key — in music
  22. land — to come down
  23. firm — decided
  24. land — ground

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