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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. key — in music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — for a lock
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spring — a coil
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lean — thin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — the season
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bat — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spring — of water
  22. capital — a city
  23. dip — to sink
  24. key — the most important part

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