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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. fine — high quality
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. degree — temperature
  7. key — for a lock
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. game — wild animals
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitch — completely
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — all right
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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