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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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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: cold · bank · content · pass · scale · key · present · track

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bank — for money
  7. track — a path
  8. bank — for money
  9. key — in music
  10. present — a gift
  11. track — a song
  12. present — there
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — happy
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — in music
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bank — of a river
  24. present — the time now

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