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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ground — the earth
  3. net — for catching
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. net — after costs
  9. shower — rain
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — crushed
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. face — to confront
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. ground — a position
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — to point toward
  22. plane — a tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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