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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. face — to confront
  3. hand — in cards
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. face — part of the head
  17. ball — a dance
  18. hand — help
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. key — in music
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ground — the earth

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