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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: shower · sharp · key · tube · degree · bound · march · mate

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bound — tied together
  4. march — the month
  5. key — for a lock
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — the underground
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — music
  10. mate — to breed
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. key — in music
  18. shower — rain
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. mate — a partner
  24. shower — to wash

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