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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of a king
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — help
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. net — in sport
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. content — the amount
  18. court — for sport
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. key — in music
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of law
  24. hand — part of the body

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