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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — to come down
  3. key — in music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — ground
  7. kid — child
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. land — a country
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rest — a break
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rest — what's left
  24. key — the most important part

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