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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bulb — for light
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. pound — a weight
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. key — for a lock
  14. drill — the tool
  15. key — in music
  16. deal — to handle
  17. file — a tool
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. file — a line of people
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. file — a document

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