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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. board — a committee
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. board — to get on
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. spell — letters
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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