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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fine — all right
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — goods
  17. land — a country
  18. face — to confront
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitch — completely

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