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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. degree — temperature
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. key — in music
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. race — humankind
  15. key — the most important part
  16. race — the arms race
  17. perch — the fish
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — a contest
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. degree — an amount

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