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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 120 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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rule — government
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rule — a law
  10. pitch — completely
  11. key — in music
  12. firm — steady
  13. face — to confront
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. firm — decided
  22. row — to paddle
  23. firm — a company
  24. row — a line

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