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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: club · stick · rock · swing · key · hide · rash · field

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rock — a stone
  4. club — for dancing
  5. swing — music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. swing — in golf
  8. club — for golf
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. club — a group
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — farmland
  24. rash — a series

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