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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.

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
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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: hand · last · mate · key · clip · content · craft · chair

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mate — a friend
  4. craft — a skill
  5. key — in music
  6. mate — to breed
  7. content — the amount
  8. hand — help
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — for paper
  13. hand — in cards
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — to go on
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. key — for a lock
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — a video
  22. key — the most important part
  23. last — final
  24. craft — boats

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