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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — to confront
  6. mug — a face
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wound — an injury
  9. swing — in golf
  10. mug — to rob
  11. swing — music
  12. mug — a cup
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. key — for a lock
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — for digging
  18. key — the most important part
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — a country
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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