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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. object — to protest
  3. branch — a division
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — a practice
  11. key — the most important part
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chair — a leader
  15. degree — an amount
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. object — an aim
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. degree — temperature
  21. key — for a lock
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. object — a thing

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