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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — an illness
  3. key — the most important part
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. spell — magic
  9. key — in music
  10. race — a contest
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spell — letters
  17. race — the arms race
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — not warm
  20. present — there
  21. face — part of the head
  22. spell — a short time
  23. face — to confront
  24. race — humankind

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