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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. current — of water
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. content — the amount
  7. bound — certain
  8. content — happy
  9. bound — obliged
  10. key — the most important part
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. drill — army training
  17. bound — tied together
  18. drill — a practice
  19. current — happening now
  20. key — for a lock
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. current — electric
  23. dip — to sink
  24. key — in music

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