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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. face — part of the head
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — to point toward
  15. staff — employees
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — money
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — an illness
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bowl — a dish

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