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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. foot — a measure
  3. face — to confront
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — part of the head
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spell — letters
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spell — a short time

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