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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. capital — money
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — to rip
  5. key — the most important part
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. field — farmland
  9. key — in music
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kick — in football

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