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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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Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mug — to rob
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. fine — all right
  8. key — in music
  9. mug — a face
  10. pit — a hole
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. row — to paddle
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mug — a cup
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — a match
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. field — farmland
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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