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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — temperature
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. key — in music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rule — a law
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. rule — government
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. degree — an amount

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