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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. content — the amount
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. face — to confront
  5. key — the most important part
  6. plane — a tool
  7. face — part of the head
  8. capital — a city
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — a video
  13. face — to point toward
  14. content — happy
  15. key — for a lock
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — clever
  22. track — a song
  23. key — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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