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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. game — a match
  3. cap — of ice
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bound — obliged
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cap — a hat
  11. land — a country
  12. bound — certain
  13. land — ground
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pitch — completely
  19. land — to come down
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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