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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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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: kid · bat · key · bass · face · pitcher · cue · spring

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. key — in music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spring — the season
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — to tease
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — the fish
  18. face — part of the head
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. kid — child
  22. cue — a signal
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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