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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — of ice
  6. face — part of the head
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. track — to keep track
  10. key — in music
  11. track — a path
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. face — to confront
  16. cell — in biology
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. track — a song
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. key — for a lock
  24. game — wild animals

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