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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. mate — to breed
  3. key — the most important part
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hand — help
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — for sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mate — a partner
  17. snap — to click
  18. key — in music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. field — farmland

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