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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.

Make a worksheet

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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spring — a coil
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spring — the season
  10. court — for sport
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. scale — size or range
  17. key — the most important part
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spring — of water
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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