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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. land — to come down
  3. degree — temperature
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. last — finally
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to click
  10. mate — to breed
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. land — a country
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. net — for catching
  16. last — final
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — ground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. key — the most important part
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kick — in football

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