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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spring — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — army training
  8. ball — a great time
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — in cards
  11. drill — the tool
  12. key — in music
  13. spring — a coil
  14. key — the most important part
  15. drill — a practice
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — letters
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. face — to confront
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spell — magic

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