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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. last — to go on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. key — in music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. last — final
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. current — happening now
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. current — electric
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — rain
  22. current — of water
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chair — a leader

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