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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 116 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: fan · nail · swing · degree · snap · bound · bat · key

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — temperature
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. swing — to play on
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bound — obliged
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. key — in music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fan — to cool the air

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