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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: ball · key · last · degree · nail · root · perch · kid

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — finally
  4. ball — a great time
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — in music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — an amount
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. perch — the fish
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a dance
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — to go on
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. last — final
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. degree — temperature

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