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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. capital — money
  9. chest — of your body
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tube — a container
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — music
  20. key — in music
  21. toast — bread
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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