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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: fall · hand · key · rush · staff · bore · degree · bat

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. key — in music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fall — to drop
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — help

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