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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. court — of law
  3. row — a line
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. row — to paddle
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cue — a signal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. key — in music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — for sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cue — a hint

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