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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. key — the most important part
  3. degree — temperature
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. rash — hasty
  6. shower — rain
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mark — a trace
  14. capital — money
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mark — a grade
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — a series
  24. last — to go on

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