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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pit — a hole
  7. band — a music group
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pitch — completely
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — a line
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. degree — from a university

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