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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · content · last · can · nail · key · swing · rule

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. last — to go on
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — help
  6. key — in music
  7. can — a tin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. key — for a lock
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — happy
  13. swing — to play on
  14. last — final
  15. swing — music
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. last — finally
  18. can — to be able to
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rule — government
  23. key — the most important part
  24. can — a tin

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