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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — for paper
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. firm — steady
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. clip — a video
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. firm — decided
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. firm — a company
  15. rest — what's left
  16. key — in music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — happy
  22. rest — a break
  23. kick — in football
  24. rest — what's left

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