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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: race · content · degree · foot · bore · scale · key · mine

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. key — the most important part
  3. degree — temperature
  4. content — happy
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bore — to drill
  11. content — the amount
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. key — for a lock
  15. degree — from a university
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. key — in music
  21. race — a contest
  22. bore — to tire
  23. race — the arms race
  24. content — videos and posts

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