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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — for paper
  14. key — in music
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — part of the body

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