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

Word bank: cell · saw · pit · degree · toast · spell · key · band

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a music group
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — the most important part
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cell — a phone
  8. toast — bread
  9. spell — magic
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — in music
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. key — for a lock
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a ring
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pit — in a race

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