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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. key — the most important part
  3. content — happy
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pound — a weight
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. swing — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. key — for a lock
  15. swing — in golf
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. swing — to play on
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. content — the amount
  23. key — in music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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