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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pop — soda
  3. key — the most important part
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rush — hurry
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. key — in music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — from a university
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spell — magic
  17. race — humankind
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — an amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pop — music
  24. key — for a lock

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