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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. capital — a city
  3. press — to push
  4. face — to confront
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. vault — a safe
  10. key — in music
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. foot — part of the body

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