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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 116 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: key · degree · leaves · pop · bulb · saw · bound · drill

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. key — the most important part
  4. pop — to visit
  5. degree — temperature
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. drill — a practice
  8. saw — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pop — music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pop — soda
  18. degree — from a university
  19. drill — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. key — for a lock
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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