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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. key — in music
  7. land — a country
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cue — a hint
  10. pit — a hole
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. season — in sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. season — of the year
  18. land — ground
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. face — to confront
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. net — after costs
  24. face — to point toward

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