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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. key — the most important part
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — after costs
  5. content — happy
  6. capital — money
  7. key — for a lock
  8. net — for catching
  9. swing — music
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. net — in sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. squash — to crush
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — the amount
  19. capital — a city
  20. swing — in golf
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. swing — to play on
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. key — in music

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