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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. net — for catching
  6. spring — of water
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rash — a series
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — the season
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fall — the season
  23. face — part of the head
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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