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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to point toward
  3. net — in sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — after costs
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — part of the head
  11. row — a line
  12. net — for catching
  13. spell — a short time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. spell — magic

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