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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. content — the amount
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — to cut
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. key — for a lock
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. game — a match
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — wild animals
  17. clip — for paper
  18. toast — bread
  19. key — in music
  20. last — final
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — finally
  23. key — the most important part
  24. toast — a drink to someone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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