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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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468
Word bank
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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. clip — for paper
  3. key — in music
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — of ice
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. file — a document
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — from a university
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. key — for a lock
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a tool
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. degree — temperature

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