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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rash — a series
  3. key — in music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pop — music
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — soda
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — the season
  19. key — the most important part
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spring — of water

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