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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — in football
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mate — a friend
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — completely
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mate — a partner
  18. key — in music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chest — a box
  21. key — for a lock
  22. face — to confront
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cell — a phone

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