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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. key — for a lock
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. net — in sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. net — after costs
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — a list
  14. key — in music
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. key — the most important part
  24. net — for catching

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