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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — for sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. key — for a lock
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. key — in music
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. court — of law
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. spring — of water
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rush — hurry
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — a coil
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. key — the most important part
  22. court — of a king
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. arm — part of the body

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