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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. track — a path
  3. bound — obliged
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chip — for betting
  6. spring — of water
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bound — certain
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spring — the season
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bound — tied together
  22. track — a song
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. track — to keep track

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