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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. object — a thing
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. content — happy
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. object — to protest
  12. drill — army training
  13. hand — in cards
  14. key — the most important part
  15. object — an aim
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitch — completely
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. content — the amount

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