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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — help
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. key — in music
  14. season — of the year
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — temperature
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — in sport
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. hand — part of the body

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