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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. key — the most important part
  3. degree — an amount
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. sharp — clever
  11. current — happening now
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. stem — to come from
  14. current — of water
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — temperature
  17. current — electric
  18. key — in music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — a friend
  22. key — for a lock
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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