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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rule — government
  3. bound — obliged
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. scale — in music
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — in music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ground — crushed
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. key — for a lock
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ground — a position
  20. bulb — for light
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bound — certain
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. degree — temperature

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