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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tube — a container
  3. bore — to drill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a ring
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bore — to tire
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. content — happy
  20. key — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. content — the amount
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bark — of a tree

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