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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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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: scale · nail · file · last · degree · rash · wound · key

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. key — in music
  2. rash — hasty
  3. scale — in music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — to go on
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rash — a series
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. file — a document
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a tool
  20. scale — size or range
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — on the skin
  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