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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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. key — the most important part
  3. craft — a skill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stock — shares
  9. firm — decided
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — of your body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. firm — steady
  17. craft — boats
  18. content — happy
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. key — in music
  24. scale — in music

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