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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cell — in biology
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. key — in music
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pop — soda
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — of a tree

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