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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a document
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. key — the most important part
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. key — in music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a song
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. file — a tool
  21. track — a path
  22. rule — a law
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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