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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mate — a friend
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — music
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. key — in music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pop — soda
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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