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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — letters
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — magic
  10. charge — a price
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. charge — electricity
  13. roll — a list
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — to point toward
  19. charge — in control
  20. pitch — completely
  21. dip — to sink
  22. roll — a cake
  23. spell — a short time
  24. roll — on a roll

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