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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — part of the head
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. court — for sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitch — completely
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. scale — in music
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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