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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. land — to come down
  5. rest — a break
  6. key — in music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — what's left
  14. deal — to handle
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. land — ground
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — from a university
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — an injury

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