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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — for a lock
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — happy
  24. pitcher — a jug

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