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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. drill — army training
  3. content — the amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. content — happy
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. key — in music
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. drill — a practice
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. key — for a lock
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — temperature
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. key — the most important part
  23. capital — a city
  24. saw — the tool

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