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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. tube — the underground
  6. face — to point toward
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. game — wild animals
  11. key — the most important part
  12. game — a match
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tube — a container
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — a box
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. spring — the season
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. spring — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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