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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. toast — bread
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a line of people
  6. key — the most important part
  7. swing — music
  8. key — in music
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — to play on
  14. key — for a lock
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. file — a tool
  18. foot — a measure
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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