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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fork — in a road
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. key — for a lock
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mug — a cup
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. branch — a division

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