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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. last — to go on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — in biology
  8. firm — a company
  9. face — part of the head
  10. band — a music group
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. shower — to wash
  14. firm — decided
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. face — to confront
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — rain
  21. face — to point toward
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. firm — steady
  24. cell — in a prison

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