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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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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: leaves · degree · rash · stick · snap · cold · bowl · key

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. key — for a lock
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rash — a series
  14. snap — to click
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cold — not warm
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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