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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — a series
  3. key — the most important part
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. court — of law
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. key — for a lock
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. key — in music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. rash — hasty
  24. trunk — of a car

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