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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. key — for a lock
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chair — a leader
  19. key — in music
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pit — a hole
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. key — the most important part
  24. straw — a straw man

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