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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. field — farmland
  3. ground — a position
  4. content — the amount
  5. chip — for betting
  6. field — a subject
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. drill — the tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chip — to eat
  20. content — happy
  21. drill — army training
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chip — in a computer
  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