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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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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: drill · content · spring · face · pitch · stand · spell · key

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. face — to point toward
  3. key — for a lock
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. face — to confront
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stand — to bear
  9. spell — a short time
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spell — letters
  12. key — in music
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spring — of water
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. drill — army training
  20. spring — a coil
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spell — magic
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pitch — completely

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