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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. file — a tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. root — of a plant
  8. key — in music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stock — shares
  11. root — of a word
  12. content — happy
  13. fork — in a road
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — goods
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a line of people
  20. root — the cause
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. file — a document
  23. key — for a lock
  24. fork — to eat with

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