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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fine — all right
  7. face — to confront
  8. kick — in football
  9. roll — a list
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. roll — a cake
  15. fine — high quality
  16. key — in music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. row — to paddle
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — a line
  22. last — finally
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mine — for digging

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