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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. key — for a lock
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. net — in sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — a line
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — for catching
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. net — after costs
  24. key — in music

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