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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  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 — an amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bat — the animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. net — after costs
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — the most important part
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. charge — electricity
  18. net — for catching
  19. charge — a price
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. charge — in control
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. temple — side of the head
  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