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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. club — for dancing
  6. root — of a plant
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. branch — a division
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — for sport
  18. key — the most important part
  19. court — of law
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. court — of a king
  23. degree — temperature
  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