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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — an amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. face — to point toward
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kick — in football
  17. face — to confront
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. temple — side of the head

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