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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
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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: prune · last · march · bay · drill · key · bound · degree

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bound — certain
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. drill — army training
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — a practice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. last — to go on
  14. bound — tied together
  15. march — music
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. last — final
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — from a university
  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