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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. key — for a lock
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. key — the most important part
  6. club — for dancing
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. club — for golf
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. face — to point toward
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. club — a group

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