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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · perch · pitch · game · wake · degree · rush · stock

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. key — for a lock
  5. game — wild animals
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — in music
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. game — a match
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. perch — for a bird

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