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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pop — music
  5. chest — a box
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — a thing
  9. pop — to visit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. content — the amount
  18. object — to protest
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tube — the underground
  21. object — an aim
  22. key — in music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. content — happy

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