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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. present — a gift
  6. squash — the sport
  7. key — in music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. face — part of the head
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. present — there
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to confront
  14. present — the time now
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chest — a box
  17. saw — the tool
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chest — of your body
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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