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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rush — hurry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mark — a grade
  10. suit — in cards
  11. present — a gift
  12. key — in music
  13. suit — clothes
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — an illness
  16. degree — temperature
  17. present — the time now
  18. mark — a trace
  19. degree — from a university
  20. face — to confront
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. suit — to fit

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