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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. net — after costs
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — the amount
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bound — certain
  11. spell — letters
  12. bound — obliged
  13. key — in music
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spell — magic
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. march — music
  24. saw — the tool

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