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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. key — for a lock
  4. track — a song
  5. degree — an amount
  6. firm — a company
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. degree — temperature
  11. key — in music
  12. firm — decided
  13. ball — a great time
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. firm — steady
  17. key — the most important part
  18. track — a path
  19. ball — a dance
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — dry grass

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