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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. key — the most important part
  4. content — happy
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — a coil
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. key — in music
  10. bass — low music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — the amount
  21. fork — in a road
  22. key — for a lock
  23. staff — a stick
  24. spring — of water

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