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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. ground — the earth
  5. current — electric
  6. key — the most important part
  7. ground — a position
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — an amount
  10. track — a song
  11. degree — from a university
  12. current — happening now
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. current — of water
  17. key — in music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pit — a hole
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — in a race
  24. track — a path

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