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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. key — the most important part
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — to push
  5. field — farmland
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — in football
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fall — to drop
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. fall — the season
  20. key — in music
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. fall — to drop

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