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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — a line
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cue — a signal
  8. last — finally
  9. rock — music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cue — a hint
  13. key — for a lock
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. key — in music
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. fork — in a road
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. degree — from a university
  23. row — to paddle
  24. deal — to handle

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