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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — happy
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. charge — electricity
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. band — a music group
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. content — the amount
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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