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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. key — for a lock
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. land — to come down
  6. degree — an amount
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bound — certain
  9. key — in music
  10. land — a country
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spell — letters
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — obliged
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. spell — magic
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bound — tied together
  23. key — the most important part
  24. leaves — of a tree

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