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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. content — happy
  16. march — the month
  17. field — a subject
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — music
  21. clip — a video
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a great time

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