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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. key — the most important part
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — of the year
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kid — to tease
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. key — in music
  14. season — in sport
  15. last — finally
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. last — final
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — to come from
  21. kid — child
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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