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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rest — a break
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. key — in music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rest — what's left
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. face — to point toward
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tube — a container
  24. key — the most important part

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