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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. season — of the year
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. season — in sport
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. rush — hurry
  14. key — in music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rest — a break
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fine — high quality
  24. deal — to handle

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