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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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Word bank
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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: wave · mine · net · face · club · pitcher · sharp · bear

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. club — for golf
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. club — for dancing
  10. face — part of the head
  11. club — a group
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — for catching

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