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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.

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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: current · cabinet · bat · degree · plane · wound · field · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. key — for a lock
  4. current — electric
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. field — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. plane — a tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — temperature
  13. current — of water
  14. key — in music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — a subject
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. current — happening now
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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