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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — in music
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. face — to confront
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — happy
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bat — the animal
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — the tool
  21. key — the most important part
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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