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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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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 · rest · tear · bay · trunk · fall · sharp · degree

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. key — in music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fall — the season
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — from crying

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