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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: bat · mate · pass · tube · shower · key · face · cell

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — to breed
  6. key — in music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tube — a container
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cell — a phone
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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