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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · squash · bound · bat · wound · face · degree · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — in music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. face — part of the head
  7. present — there
  8. bound — certain
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. key — for a lock
  17. present — a gift
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. present — the time now
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — to confront

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