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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bound — obliged
  3. key — the most important part
  4. race — humankind
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. march — music
  11. fine — high quality
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fine — all right
  14. content — the amount
  15. band — a music group
  16. key — in music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. content — happy
  19. march — the month
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. band — a ring
  22. game — a match
  23. race — a contest
  24. key — for a lock

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