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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — to paddle
  7. club — a group
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. club — for golf
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. club — for dancing
  12. net — in sport
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. key — in music
  17. net — for catching
  18. key — for a lock
  19. face — part of the head
  20. capital — a city
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. face — to confront
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. net — after costs

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