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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. kick — in football
  4. saw — the tool
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. key — the most important part
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ground — a position
  15. snap — to click
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. degree — temperature
  21. saw — the tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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