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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. last — final
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. last — to go on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. degree — temperature
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — in music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. last — finally
  20. rule — government
  21. fine — all right
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rule — a law
  24. safe — out of danger

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