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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. season — in sport
  7. kid — child
  8. ground — a position
  9. kid — to tease
  10. key — in music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. ground — the earth
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — to confront
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — part of the head
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. sharp — clever
  23. face — to point toward
  24. sharp — exactly

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