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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · cell · spring · degree · mouse · dip · file · drill

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cell — a phone
  6. file — a document
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. key — in music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — in biology
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — army training
  18. dip — to sink
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — a coil
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. drill — a practice

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