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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — hasty
  6. key — for a lock
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. key — the most important part
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — an amount
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rash — a series
  16. club — a group
  17. key — in music
  18. capital — a city
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for golf
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — a subject

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