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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: bear · face · game · staff · kid · spring · key · bay

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. kid — child
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. key — the most important part
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. face — to confront
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. key — in music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — the season
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spring — of water
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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