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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cue — a signal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cue — for pool
  7. spring — of water
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. key — the most important part
  14. kid — child
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cue — a hint
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bass — low music
  21. content — the amount
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — the season

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