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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. face — to confront
  6. season — of the year
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spring — of water
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. key — the most important part
  21. season — in sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. key — in music
  24. face — part of the head

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