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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. current — happening now
  3. key — for a lock
  4. suit — in cards
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. current — electric
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — an amount
  10. ball — a great time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. content — happy
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ground — a position
  16. key — in music
  17. suit — clothes
  18. ground — crushed
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — the earth
  23. content — the amount
  24. suit — to fit

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