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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. key — in music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. plane — a tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. swing — music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — a practice
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. game — a match
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — in golf

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