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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. field — a subject
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. present — a gift
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — a division
  9. degree — from a university
  10. foot — a measure
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. degree — an amount
  13. present — there
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. field — farmland
  18. key — in music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. key — for a lock
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. present — the time now
  23. saw — the tool
  24. field — for sport

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