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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 120 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. pop — soda
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. drill — a practice
  8. face — to point toward
  9. drill — the tool
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chest — a box
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pop — music
  24. plane — an aircraft

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