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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. key — the most important part
  8. firm — decided
  9. drill — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — for a lock
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. firm — steady
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tube — the underground
  18. drill — army training
  19. firm — a company
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — humankind
  23. bass — the fish
  24. race — a contest

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