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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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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: pit · band · present · content · key · board · straw · tear

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. key — in music
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. content — happy
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pit — a hole
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — there
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — the most important part
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pit — in a race
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. present — the time now
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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