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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rest — a break
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a match
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — the amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. key — 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