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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pound — a weight
  4. content — the amount
  5. track — to keep track
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. key — for a lock
  10. kid — child
  11. key — the most important part
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. key — in music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. content — videos and posts

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