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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. face — to confront
  3. pitch — completely
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. board — to get on
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. face — part of the head
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. track — a song
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. game — a match
  16. track — to keep track
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. wind — moving air
  20. track — a path
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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