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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. key — for a lock
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. file — a tool
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pit — in a race
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. mug — a cup
  14. degree — an amount
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. prune — to trim
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cue — for pool
  20. key — in music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a face
  24. pit — a hole

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