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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rock — music
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — for sport
  8. pound — a weight
  9. last — final
  10. key — the most important part
  11. last — to go on
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. degree — an amount
  17. key — for a lock
  18. court — of a king
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — a box
  21. rock — a stone
  22. can — to be able to
  23. court — of law
  24. key — in music

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