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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. face — to point toward
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. land — ground
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. land — a country
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — rain
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. dip — to sink
  24. land — to come down

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