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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — in sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — the most important part
  10. net — for catching
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. band — a ring
  16. degree — from a university
  17. key — in music
  18. chest — a box
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. band — a music group
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. net — after costs
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — an injury

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