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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · kid · nail · scale · rest · degree · cold · object

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. object — an aim
  12. key — for a lock
  13. degree — temperature
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cold — not warm
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. object — to protest
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rest — a break
  24. key — in music

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