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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. key — for a lock
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — in sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. stock — shares
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. key — in music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wound — an injury
  21. season — of the year
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stock — goods
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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