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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — finally
  5. key — in music
  6. bound — certain
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — for sport
  9. pitch — completely
  10. degree — temperature
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. net — in sport
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — for a lock
  15. net — for catching
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. court — of law

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