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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: wound · lie · patient · ball · game · key · degree · object

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ball — a great time
  3. game — a match
  4. object — an aim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. game — wild animals
  10. object — a thing
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — for a lock
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. object — to protest
  19. key — in music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. patient — a sick person

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