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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. net — in sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. track — a path
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — hasty
  10. track — to keep track
  11. net — after costs
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. race — the arms race
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. net — for catching
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. toast — bread
  19. key — in music
  20. track — a song
  21. rash — a series
  22. key — the most important part
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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