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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. degree — from a university
  3. key — in music
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. land — a country
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pass — a permit
  8. track — a song
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. track — a path
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — an amount
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — ground
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. row — a line
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. key — for a lock

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