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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: hand · sharp · cell · face · key · mine · mouse · pound

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. key — in music
  5. face — to confront
  6. hand — help
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. face — part of the head
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cell — a phone

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