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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. content — the amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. race — humankind
  4. key — for a lock
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bank — for money
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bank — of a river
  12. key — in music
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cell — a phone
  16. root — the cause
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. bank — for money
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cell — in biology
  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