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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pit — a hole
  3. key — in music
  4. last — final
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. content — happy
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mate — a friend
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rock — music
  11. last — finally
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mate — a partner
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — for digging
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pit — in a race
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. last — to go on

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