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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. net — for catching
  13. degree — temperature
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — an amount
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. key — the most important part
  24. racket — for tennis

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