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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. degree — from a university
  3. key — in music
  4. rash — a series
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. can — a tin
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. key — for a lock
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spell — magic
  14. last — to go on
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spell — letters
  17. can — to be able to
  18. degree — temperature
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. last — finally
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — final

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