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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — in music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. scale — size or range
  9. degree — from a university
  10. key — in music
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. key — for a lock
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chip — to eat
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fine — all right
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chip — for betting

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