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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wound — an injury
  13. key — in music
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mark — a trace
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — a series
  24. kid — child

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