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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — for pool
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — of the year
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cue — a hint
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — from a university

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