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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — a grade
  3. game — wild animals
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mark — a trace
  6. track — a song
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — the amount
  10. key — for a lock
  11. game — a match
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spring — of water
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. key — the most important part
  16. content — happy
  17. track — a path
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. key — in music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. track — to keep track
  24. tear — to rip

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