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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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468
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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chip — to eat
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wind — moving air
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chip — for betting
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. key — for a lock
  10. scale — in music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. key — in music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. tube — a container
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. degree — temperature
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — moving air

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