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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. key — in music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — to go on
  11. plane — a tool
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — music
  15. last — final
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — finally
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — the animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. key — the most important part

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