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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. key — in music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. race — a contest
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. key — for a lock
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. content — happy
  16. key — the most important part
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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