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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: chest · key · file · snap · degree · plane · can · wound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — a tin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — the most important part
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chest — a box
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. degree — temperature
  12. can — a tin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. snap — to click
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a tool
  22. key — in music
  23. plane — a tool
  24. chest — of your body

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