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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — part of the head
  5. track — to keep track
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — a path
  8. row — a line
  9. track — a song
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mark — a grade
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. row — to paddle
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pitch — completely
  22. face — to confront
  23. roll — a cake
  24. wake — before a funeral

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