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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — finally
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. last — final
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rock — music
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — a law
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rock — a stone
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — to go on
  19. rule — government
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. kid — child

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