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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.

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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: trunk · club · key · mate · degree · dip · race · content

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mate — a partner
  4. club — a group
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. race — humankind
  7. dip — to sink
  8. content — happy
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mate — to breed
  11. race — a contest
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mate — a friend
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. race — the arms race
  18. club — for dancing
  19. degree — from a university
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. club — for golf
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — the amount
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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