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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · chair · face · saw · key · shower · mate · dip

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mate — a friend
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — letters
  9. saw — the tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spell — a short time
  13. key — for a lock
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. spell — magic
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — the tool
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. face — to confront
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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