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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — moving air
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. stem — to come from
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. cue — a hint
  18. face — part of the head
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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