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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. object — to protest
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — clever
  6. object — an aim
  7. content — happy
  8. field — farmland
  9. key — the most important part
  10. object — a thing
  11. spring — a coil
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. field — for sport
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. field — a subject
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. spring — of water

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