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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. swing — music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. swing — in golf
  20. degree — temperature
  21. key — in music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. kick — in football
  24. bat — the animal

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