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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tube — the underground
  5. key — in music
  6. field — farmland
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fork — in a road
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — a subject
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — a container
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wound — an injury
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. key — for a lock

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