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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — a video
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. clip — to cut
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — an amount
  17. key — for a lock
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. date — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. deal — to handle
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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