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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 120 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: field · spring · key · firm · degree · trunk · last · pound

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. last — final
  3. firm — decided
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. degree — from a university
  13. key — in music
  14. field — a subject
  15. firm — steady
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. firm — a company
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — to go on
  23. degree — temperature
  24. key — the most important part

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