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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. degree — temperature
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. last — to go on
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. drill — army training
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. last — final
  12. bass — low music
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bass — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stem — to come from
  18. last — finally
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. key — in music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. drill — the tool
  24. 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