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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: bowl · rock · content · game · fork · band · key · mine

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. key — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. key — for a lock
  6. band — a ring
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — in a road
  16. game — a match
  17. content — happy
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — wild animals
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mine — for digging

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