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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. saw — the tool
  3. key — for a lock
  4. degree — an amount
  5. perch — the fish
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. cap — of ice
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a hat
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cap — a lid
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. key — in music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kick — a thrill

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