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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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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: toast · key · bay · pit · last · face · season · clip

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pit — a hole
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. last — final
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. key — in music
  9. toast — bread
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pit — in a race
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. key — the most important part
  18. last — finally
  19. face — part of the head
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. clip — a video
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. key — for a lock

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