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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fall — the season
  3. ball — a great time
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — to play on
  10. net — after costs
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ball — a dance
  16. swing — music
  17. content — happy
  18. swing — in golf
  19. net — in sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. net — for catching
  22. key — in music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. present — a gift

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