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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. track — to keep track
  6. degree — from a university
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — for sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. track — a song
  13. last — final
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — finally
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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