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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. bark — to shout
  3. key — the most important part
  4. spell — letters
  5. face — to confront
  6. key — for a lock
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — to point toward
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spell — magic
  21. key — in music
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  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