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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  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 — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. key — for a lock
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — help
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — final
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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