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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — the most important part
  6. kid — child
  7. roll — a cake
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — in music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. key — for a lock
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. roll — a list

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