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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. key — in music
  4. hand — help
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bulb — for light
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rock — music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rock — a stone
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. face — to confront
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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