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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 120 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. key — in music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. current — electric
  6. spell — magic
  7. drill — a practice
  8. current — of water
  9. spell — a short time
  10. drill — army training
  11. current — happening now
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. drill — the tool
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part

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