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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mug — to rob
  4. band — a music group
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mug — a cup
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — from crying
  13. band — a ring
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — a position
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ground — crushed
  24. face — to confront

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