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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. key — for a lock
  3. race — humankind
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. key — the most important part
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rule — a law
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. club — for golf
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — a group
  18. key — in music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rule — government
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. club — for dancing

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