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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. degree — temperature
  3. key — the most important part
  4. net — in sport
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ground — a position
  7. key — in music
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spring — of water
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. sharp — clever
  16. branch — a division
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. present — there

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