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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. face — to confront
  3. track — to keep track
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. key — for a lock
  7. face — part of the head
  8. perch — the fish
  9. game — wild animals
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. game — a match
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cue — for pool
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. key — in music
  24. fork — in a road

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