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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pit — a hole
  7. last — finally
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bulb — for light
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. last — final
  20. degree — from a university
  21. capital — a city
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. key — in music
  24. bowl — a football final

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