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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: sharp · face · craft · mine · bound · coach · key · degree

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. degree — from a university
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bound — certain
  6. key — in music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bound — obliged
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a skill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — to confront
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bound — tied together
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. face — to point toward
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. mine — for digging
  23. craft — boats
  24. sharp — clever

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