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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. object — an aim
  3. key — for a lock
  4. object — to protest
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pit — a hole
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mate — a partner
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mate — a friend
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. object — a thing
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. key — in music

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