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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — the earth
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. face — to point toward
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. net — after costs
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — a box
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — of your body
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chest — of your body
  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