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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: rule · key · capital · chest · ground · lean · face · swing

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. ground — crushed
  4. face — to confront
  5. lean — to bend
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lean — thin
  9. ground — the earth
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rule — a law
  12. capital — a city
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — a position
  15. face — to point toward
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — government
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — money
  20. key — in music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. key — for a lock
  24. swing — music

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