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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. land — to come down
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. land — a country
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. clip — a video
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. face — to point toward
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — to cut

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