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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pass · content · mine · key · straw · coach · calf · spell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — letters
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. spell — a short time
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. key — in music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pass — a permit
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — magic
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — for digging
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. key — for a lock
  24. coach — a trainer

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