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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. date — the fruit
  3. key — the most important part
  4. land — a country
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — employees
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. land — ground
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. key — in music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. staff — employees
  13. branch — a division
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. key — for a lock
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — to come down
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — a match

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