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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. key — for a lock
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. march — music
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — hasty
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fall — the season
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cap — a lid
  21. degree — temperature
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. key — in music
  24. rash — a series

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