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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pop — to visit
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cue — a hint
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — in music
  10. pop — music
  11. march — the month
  12. key — for a lock
  13. march — the month
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cue — a signal
  18. net — after costs
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pop — soda
  21. stem — to come from
  22. march — music
  23. net — for catching
  24. cue — for pool

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