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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — the most important part
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. key — in music
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ball — a dance
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — for sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — the amount
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. key — for a lock
  15. snap — to click
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fork — in a road
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — belonging to me

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