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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: march · key · degree · hand · wind · leaves · firm · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. key — the most important part
  3. firm — decided
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wind — moving air
  7. firm — a company
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — the arms race
  14. march — music
  15. firm — steady
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — help
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. degree — from a university
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. march — the month
  24. key — in music

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