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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.

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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: spring · rash · court · dip · snap · key · deal · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. key — in music
  3. court — of a king
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. key — for a lock
  6. deal — to handle
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. snap — to click
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — of water
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — a coil
  22. court — of law
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. content — videos and posts

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