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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bound — obliged
  3. scale — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bound — tied together
  11. scale — size or range
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. key — in music
  14. mark — a grade
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bound — certain
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. content — happy

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