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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · ground · file · bass · snap · key · bore · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. key — for a lock
  8. ground — the earth
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bass — the fish
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bass — low music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ground — a position
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ground — crushed
  24. key — in music

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