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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.

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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: bay · race · degree · plane · key · rock · hand · object

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. race — a contest
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. plane — a tool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — a thing
  13. key — in music
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. race — humankind
  17. rock — music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. hand — help
  20. rock — a stone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. degree — temperature

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