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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. key — the most important part
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. key — in music
  6. last — final
  7. court — for sport
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. court — of law
  20. key — for a lock
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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