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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · ground · key · chair · season · snap · swing · track

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. season — of the year
  3. bat — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ground — a position
  13. key — in music
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. swing — music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — in sport
  22. track — a path
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. key — for a lock

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