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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. track — a song
  3. club — a group
  4. track — a path
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. club — for golf
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — from a university
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bore — to tire
  14. key — in music
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wake — a trail
  18. club — for dancing
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. plane — in geometry

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