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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. content — happy
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. capital — money
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. content — the amount
  10. fork — in a road
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. plane — a tool
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. key — the most important part
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. key — in music

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