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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.

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 · bass · content · degree · coach · band · field · scale

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — size or range
  8. band — a ring
  9. key — for a lock
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. content — the amount
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. field — a subject
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. scale — in music
  20. content — happy
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. degree — temperature
  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