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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bound — tied together
  3. drill — a practice
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bound — certain
  7. key — in music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. drill — army training
  11. last — final
  12. content — happy
  13. last — finally
  14. bound — obliged
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. key — the most important part
  18. game — a match
  19. season — of the year
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. drill — the tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. scale — in music

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