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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. pop — to visit
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bound — certain
  8. ball — a dance
  9. key — in music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — a stick
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pop — music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — soda

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