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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. game — a match
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — crushed
  6. key — for a lock
  7. ground — the earth
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ground — a position
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — rain
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour

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