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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. key — in music
  4. drill — army training
  5. key — the most important part
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — a leader
  8. branch — a division
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. drill — a practice
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — the tool
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tube — a container
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. tube — the underground
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a ring

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