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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — an amount
  7. key — for a lock
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. key — in music
  22. craft — boats
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rule — to rule out

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