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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. face — part of the head
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — in sport
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitch — completely
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. game — a match
  24. net — for catching

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