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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — from a university
  6. dip — to sink
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — a box
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — an amount
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. key — for a lock

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