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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: date · degree · pop · key · object · hand · wind · rush

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — help
  3. key — in music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. object — to protest
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. object — a thing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. date — the fruit
  17. hand — in cards
  18. object — an aim
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — from a university
  24. key — for a lock

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