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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. key — the most important part
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. present — the time now
  10. press — a publisher
  11. key — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — a gift
  18. key — for a lock
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. degree — from a university

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