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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ground — crushed
  3. squash — to crush
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. current — of water
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. key — for a lock
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — a position
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. squash — the sport
  19. degree — an amount
  20. key — in music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. prune — the fruit

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