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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. face — to point toward
  3. board — to get on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — an illness
  14. board — a committee
  15. dip — to sink
  16. capital — money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. swing — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. face — to confront

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