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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. key — the most important part
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. key — in music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — a container
  16. rest — a break
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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