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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bank — for money
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — temperature
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bank — for money
  13. key — for a lock
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. last — finally
  17. key — in music
  18. last — final
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bank — of a river
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. key — the most important part

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