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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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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. key — in music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — a short time
  5. key — the most important part
  6. band — a ring
  7. net — in sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. net — for catching
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. band — a music group
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. spell — letters
  15. key — for a lock
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — after costs
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — the amount
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — a measure
  24. date — the fruit

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