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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — wild animals
  3. key — for a lock
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bass — low music
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. key — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a match
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. key — the most important part
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — a trail
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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