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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. object — an aim
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. court — of law
  10. drill — a practice
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mug — to rob
  13. object — a thing
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. drill — army training
  17. spring — a coil
  18. degree — from a university
  19. court — of a king
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. key — the most important part
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mug — a cup
  24. degree — temperature

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