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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. key — for a lock
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mark — a trace
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spell — letters
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. key — in music
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — magic
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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