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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — a series
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — in music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chest — of your body

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