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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.

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: tube · game · degree · scale · key · field · band · cabinet

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — in music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. scale — size or range
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. key — in music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — farmland
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — a subject
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — the underground
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. key — the most important part
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — for sport

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