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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wound — an injury
  3. staff — employees
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lean — thin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — a stick
  19. content — happy
  20. staff — employees
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — in music
  24. wound — an injury

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