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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. roll — a list
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — the amount
  6. key — the most important part
  7. band — a ring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. roll — a cake
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. band — a music group
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — happy
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. snap — to click
  24. patient — a sick person

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