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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. pound — for dogs
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. key — in music
  10. pound — a weight
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. degree — temperature
  17. scale — in music
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. scale — size or range
  22. degree — an amount
  23. sharp — clever
  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