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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of a king
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. track — a path
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. key — in music
  10. court — for sport
  11. track — a song
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. track — to keep track
  21. perch — the fish
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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