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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 120 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: cap · chest · key · snap · leaves · degree · object · wound

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. key — in music
  6. cap — a hat
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chest — a box
  17. degree — from a university
  18. snap — to click
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cap — of ice
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cap — a lid

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