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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. can — to be able to
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. key — the most important part
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ball — a dance
  9. can — a tin
  10. key — in music
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. can — a tin
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. content — the amount
  15. clip — a video
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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