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

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. court — of a king
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. key — in music
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — temperature
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — of law
  13. row — a line
  14. key — the most important part
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — for sport

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