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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — ground
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — the amount
  8. land — a country
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. land — to come down
  13. object — a thing
  14. clip — a video
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. mate — a partner
  18. key — in music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — army training
  21. key — for a lock
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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