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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. staff — employees
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. ball — a dance
  6. press — a publisher
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. staff — employees
  9. press — to push
  10. key — in music
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. staff — a stick
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — newspapers
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. degree — an amount

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