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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. key — the most important part
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — in music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. vault — a safe
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kick — in football
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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