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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: coach · key · prune · degree · drill · last · ground · object

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — to go on
  4. ground — a position
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — from a university
  7. key — for a lock
  8. object — a thing
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. drill — the tool
  13. key — in music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — a practice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — an amount
  21. last — final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. object — an aim
  24. prune — the fruit

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