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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · wave · fork · hide · bat · ground

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hide — to keep secret

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