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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. degree — from a university
  3. club — a group
  4. mate — a friend
  5. race — a contest
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mate — a partner
  8. sharp — clever
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — the arms race
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. present — the time now
  15. key — for a lock
  16. race — humankind
  17. mate — to breed
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. branch — a division
  20. key — in music
  21. present — there
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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