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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. staff — a stick
  3. content — the amount
  4. staff — employees
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — to tease
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. track — to keep track
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. key — for a lock
  22. content — happy
  23. key — the most important part
  24. kid — child

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