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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bank — for money
  3. content — the amount
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bank — for money
  15. bound — certain
  16. key — in music
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pop — music
  20. bank — of a river
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pop — soda
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. key — the most important part

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