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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — the animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. track — to keep track
  9. key — in music
  10. track — a path
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. face — to point toward
  13. press — a publisher
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. track — a song
  21. press — newspapers
  22. face — part of the head
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. face — to confront

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