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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. track — a song
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. face — to confront
  9. mate — a friend
  10. track — to keep track
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to point toward
  16. track — a path
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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