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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — a tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — from a university
  5. track — a song
  6. key — the most important part
  7. present — the time now
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. degree — temperature
  15. present — there
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. root — of a word
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. key — for a lock
  20. root — of a plant
  21. track — to keep track
  22. key — in music
  23. root — the cause
  24. straw — dry grass

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