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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bear — the animal
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. key — in music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — an amount
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. face — to point toward
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. racket — a loud noise

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