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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — for pool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a music group
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. band — a ring
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cue — a signal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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