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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. field — a subject
  3. key — for a lock
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. key — the most important part
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spring — the season
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. kick — in football
  17. field — for sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. key — in music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. kick — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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