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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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Word bank
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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. lie — to recline
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — a face
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. march — music
  16. mug — to rob
  17. key — the most important part
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — a cup
  21. key — in music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. snap — to click

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