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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. key — for a lock
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — for digging
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. sharp — clever
  20. key — in music
  21. club — a group
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. club — for golf
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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