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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. kid — to tease
  8. scale — size or range
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. key — in music
  15. cue — a signal
  16. last — to go on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. scale — in music
  19. kid — child
  20. last — final
  21. content — happy
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — for pool
  24. last — finally

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