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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 116 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: content · row · spring · drill · sharp · object · game · key

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — to protest
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — a line
  8. object — an aim
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — clever
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. content — happy
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. drill — army training
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — a coil

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