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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. content — happy
  3. mate — a partner
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — to visit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to confront
  10. kick — in football
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mate — a friend
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — music
  17. face — part of the head
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. key — for a lock
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — the amount
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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