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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rule — government
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. deal — to handle
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. wake — a trail
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. stem — to come from
  24. deal — a big deal

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