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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — for a lock
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stand — to bear
  8. key — in music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ground — a position
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — a city
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. capital — money

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