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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rash — a series
  4. key — in music
  5. craft — boats
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. content — the amount
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spring — the season
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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