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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. degree — an amount
  3. key — the most important part
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. key — for a lock
  9. foot — a measure
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ground — crushed
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ground — a position
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. key — in music
  24. bowl — a dish

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