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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: game · bulb · key · stick · roll · scale · degree · shower

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. scale — in music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. key — in music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. key — for a lock
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. shower — rain
  12. scale — size or range
  13. roll — a cake
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — a match
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. roll — a list
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. degree — from a university
  24. scale — for weighing

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