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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. face — to confront
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bat — in an idiom

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