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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. key — in music
  3. club — for golf
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. club — for dancing
  7. key — the most important part
  8. content — happy
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. race — humankind
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — a group
  17. cap — a hat
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bark — to shout

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