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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: chest · key · snap · degree · ruler · shower · craft · content

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — in music
  10. content — happy
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. snap — to click
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chest — a box
  23. content — the amount
  24. degree — from a university

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