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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's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — music
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. face — to confront
  11. bore — to tire
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. snap — to click
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rock — a stone
  21. pop — soda
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pop — music
  24. bore — to drill

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