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

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. court — of law
  11. key — in music
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. key — the most important part
  14. face — part of the head
  15. court — of a king
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chest — a box
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pit — a hole
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pit — in a race
  22. face — to confront
  23. chest — of your body
  24. capital — a city

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