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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. degree — an amount
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — the season
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. spring — of water
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. key — for a lock
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. kick — in football
  22. rash — a series
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — hasty

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