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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. key — the most important part
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. degree — temperature
  8. press — newspapers
  9. degree — an amount
  10. plane — a tool
  11. key — in music
  12. craft — a skill
  13. key — for a lock
  14. craft — boats
  15. press — a publisher
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mate — a friend
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. mate — a partner
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mate — to breed
  22. press — to push
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — in cards

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