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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. object — to protest
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. object — an aim
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rash — hasty
  14. key — in music
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — for sport
  17. key — the most important part
  18. craft — boats
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. snap — to click
  22. object — a thing
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. field — farmland

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