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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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468
Word bank
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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. face — to point toward
  7. key — for a lock
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. face — part of the head
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. prune — to trim
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. key — in music
  20. face — to confront
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — from a university
  24. temple — a place of worship

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