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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · safe · key · mine · rash · present · bat · wind

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. mine — for digging
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bat — the animal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. present — there
  11. rash — a series
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rash — hasty
  14. present — a gift
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. key — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. present — the time now
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — temperature
  24. key — for a lock

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