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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. dip — to sink
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — a box
  14. key — the most important part
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hand — in cards
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. date — the fruit

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