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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: face · lie · fork · present · hand · pop · last · key

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. last — final
  3. pop — to visit
  4. present — the time now
  5. key — for a lock
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. present — there
  8. lie — to recline
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. last — finally
  12. pop — soda
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. present — a gift
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. key — in music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. pop — music
  24. fork — in a road

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