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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — temperature
  4. firm — a company
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — an amount
  7. firm — steady
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. degree — from a university
  10. row — a line
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. land — to come down
  13. game — a match
  14. pitch — completely
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. key — the most important part
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — ground
  21. season — of the year
  22. firm — decided
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. key — in music

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