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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: deal · rash · ruler · march · roll · key · content · bat

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. content — the amount
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rash — a series
  14. key — in music
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. roll — a list
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. roll — a cake
  24. ruler — for measuring

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