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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: bear · mate · chest · saw · key · content · bark · club

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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. key — for a lock
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. content — the amount
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mate — to breed
  16. chest — a box
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. club — for golf
  20. key — in music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. key — the most important part

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