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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitch — completely

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