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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. content — the amount
  3. race — a contest
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — temperature
  6. race — humankind
  7. mug — to rob
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pop — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mug — a cup
  14. ball — a dance
  15. key — in music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mug — a face
  18. pop — soda
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pop — to visit
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — finally

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