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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 116 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: safe · degree · straw · game · key · kid · object · field

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. key — the most important part
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. object — a thing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — farmland
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — temperature
  12. key — in music
  13. object — to protest
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. game — wild animals
  18. field — a subject
  19. key — for a lock
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kid — child
  22. object — an aim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. straw — a straw man

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