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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — to visit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — soda
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. squash — to crush
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. game — wild animals
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — a division
  18. key — in music
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. squash — the sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. pop — music
  24. game — a kind of play

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