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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — in music
  13. roll — a list
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — final
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spell — magic
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. degree — from a university
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spell — a short time
  23. roll — a cake
  24. chair — a leader

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