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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wound — an injury
  3. scale — in music
  4. band — a music group
  5. bound — obliged
  6. content — the amount
  7. bound — certain
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. key — for a lock
  10. band — a ring
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — an injury
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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