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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. key — for a lock
  3. present — a gift
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bank — of a river
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bank — for money
  12. key — the most important part
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bank — for money
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. key — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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