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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. key — in music
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — child
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — after costs
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. net — in sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — a leader
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  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