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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: key · cell · pit · ruler · content · cold · spell · snap

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spell — letters
  3. key — in music
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. spell — a short time
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. ruler — a monarch

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