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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: face · wind · key · coach · club · mate · fall · ball

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mate — to breed
  4. club — a group
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — a partner
  8. club — for dancing
  9. key — in music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fall — the season
  13. ball — a great time
  14. club — for golf
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — a friend
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — part of the head
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. key — the most important part
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wind — moving air
  24. coach — a trainer

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