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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. face — to confront
  5. pitch — completely
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. present — the time now
  12. land — ground
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. suit — to fit
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. suit — clothes
  18. pound — a weight
  19. land — to come down
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. face — to point toward
  24. present — a gift

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