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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.

Make a worksheet

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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — in music
  7. bound — obliged
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bound — certain
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — of the year
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — a match
  18. march — music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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