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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tube — a container
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. key — for a lock
  16. degree — an amount
  17. club — for golf
  18. key — in music
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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