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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — the most important part
  6. degree — an amount
  7. key — for a lock
  8. lean — thin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rest — a break
  17. file — a document
  18. cue — a hint
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ground — the earth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ground — a position
  24. key — in music

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