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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to click
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. club — for dancing
  7. spring — a coil
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — of water
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. key — in music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. key — the most important part
  19. degree — an amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. club — a group
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lie — to recline

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