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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. face — to confront
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. face — to point toward
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. pitch — completely
  24. drill — army training

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