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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. can — a tin
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. degree — from a university
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. can — to be able to
  8. key — in music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. shower — rain
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — a video
  20. shower — to wash
  21. can — a tin
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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