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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. key — in music
  6. last — final
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. last — to go on
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. key — for a lock
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — for sport
  23. last — finally
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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