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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: key · pop · wake · charge · degree · hand · season · fall

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hand — help
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. charge — in control
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — in cards
  12. season — in sport
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pop — music
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. charge — electricity
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fall — to drop
  23. charge — a price
  24. degree — from a university

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